Just a Moment of Change
by sxmmy
Summary: After the night she left him, somehow life goes on at Pearson Specter Litt- for all except a few. Harvey seems to be on a downward spiral. Will he eventually find a way to move on with the rest of the firm, or will Donna's decision open up new possibilities for their relationship? ( Post finale, Darvey. )


**[ **_a/n _**] **Gotta admit, that finale shattered my heart into a million pieces... and this my way of dealing with it, awakening the muse. First Suits fic, so behave ;)

* * *

"Hey."

"Hey…"

"Listen I was thinking about what you said, about me… _pitying _you, and I don't. Nothing could be further from the truth. I think you're one of the most amazing women I've ever met, and just because I don't—"

"I'm leaving you, Harvey."

"… what?"

"This isn't working for me anymore."

"Donna I know how you're feeling, but you just went through something _huge_ with you on trial and uh… you need to give it time. You can't just quit."

"I'm not quitting, I'm going to work for Luis."

" …Donna… Donna _please._"

"I love you, Harvey."

* * *

_While you were sleeping, you bet that I might  
Walk this empty northern hemisphere wide  
And the kingdom it came, well it all fell down_

_It all fell to dust._

* * *

"I'll need those files by noon tomorrow, and—"

"Already done, Louis," Donna interrupted briskly, lifting a 3-inch wide stack for him to see. "And if you were just going to remind me to reschedule your follow-up meeting with MacCurnin Motors, I'm only going to say this once. I'm Donna. I remind _you _of things, and not the other way around."

"Absolutely," Louis amended right on beat, his head falling into a low swayed nod of acceptance, "Good." He was taking her extremely seriously, of course, but there was that outward film of excitement that Donna could easily tell he was suppressing. He wasn't used to this, and even though she's helped him out with the occasional file, order, or schedule— he's never had _her._ She couldn't help but smile.

He remained there nodding a moment longer than would be socially acceptable, but Donna remained outwardly unfazed. Even if Louis wasn't used to her, she was definitely used to him, and he had lurked around her desk like a vulture on more than one occasion, usually a sign of unease…

"Is there something else you wanted, Louis?"

"Yes, I mean, no it's fine, I can take care of it. I was just going to ask you to take those to—"

"_Harvey_," Donna finished for him, lowering the files to rest on her desk slowly.

"No Donna it's fine, I'll just—"

"Louis, stop. Look, I appreciate your concern, but we're adults. I can handle taking Harvey some files." She assured him, voice displaying much more conviction than she actually felt. Louis didn't catch drift of her underlying unease, both to her relief and disappointment. _Harvey _would have.

….Harvey.

Something twisted deep in her chest, and the warmth that had been built over the entire morning seemed to drain out of her in a matter of seconds, leaving her feeling empty until that all too familiar ache directly tied to _him_ began to spread.

Donna's gaze involuntarily shifted from Louis's now retreating form, settling on something else...fifty feet down the hall. Drawing a deep breath as she tightened her grip on the stack of files, Donna forced her body into compliance, standing to her full height. She made her way down the hall silently hoping that she'd be lucky enough to find his office empty—but of course, because the universe particularly seemed to hate her this month, it wasn't.

Harvey was sitting in his chair, a mess of papers and files in front of him; accompanied by a cup of coffee that, judging by the position of the handle, hadn't been touched. She could immediately tell he was stressed. Even from far off—the creases of concentration on his forehead shadowed already dark eyes, giving off an unwelcoming glow. But then again… Donna didn't expect anything different. She didn't expect him to take this well.

Donna paused momentarily beside her old now-empty corner desk, swept clean with no evidence of anyone ever having used it in the first place. It looked wrong, without her files and computer and general touch of presence. Donna couldn't help but think of how much _more _wrong it would look, filled with someone else.

She remained there a minute, pulling herself from the fog of emotion and regret lingering in the pit of her stomach and mustering up the resolve to move again.

Donna had known this transition would be difficult.

Before, she didn't even think she was strong enough to make the decision—because she knew what it would _mean_. That the moment she walked away from Harvey would be the moment she tore away a half of herself, and a half of _him_ in the process. More than just emotionally, they had become a unit after all their time spent side by side. Twelve years? They were just about _codependent_, but now everything was changing—and she knew it would never go back to the way it was before.

Now? Now they had to figure out how to function without each other, the person they spent years believing they'd never survive without.

But Donna found solace in the fact that she knew it couldn't have continued, the way it was….not with him loving her, and definitely not with her loving him back. Nothing would have come of that besides the repression of feelings and a whole lot of denial on both ends, because that's how Harvey would want it, and she would have known better than to try and force anything else. They had already gone down that road once, and she wasn't going to do it again.

Yes, she left, yes, they lost what they had been before because of her—but they were never going to become anything more than what they were unless _something_ changed. He was never going to look at her 'that way', not unless she separated herself from him. How could they know where they stood with each other when they didn't know where they stood on their own? She separated from him, but she also gave them a chance... a chance to figure out if, once on their own, they could come together again in a different way.

Her walk was brisk when she entered his office, pulling open the glass door in a wide semicircle before marching through—dignified, but not resentful.

"These are from Louis, he wants you to take a look." Donna announced when Harvey's head lifted; she pretended not to notice when his entire demeanor shifted, the equal blend of various emotions coloring his expression plain for her to see. It took a minute for him to snap out of it, lifting a hand to stop her from dropping off the files.

"I can't handle it right now, you can…" he paused, clearing his throat. "_Mike_ can look it over. If it needs my attention he'll let me know."

Donna frowned, her eyes narrowing. He was **_really _**off his game this morning. There were dark circles under his eyes like bruises, indicating he'd hardly gotten _any _sleep in the past few nights, and not because of any 'conquest.' Which would be fine, if it weren't for his untouched cup of coffee tucked to the left corner of his desk, no longer warm due to hours of neglect. And _then _she noticed the bottle of whiskey, tucked neatly behind the desk.

She hesitated a moment, about to comment, before remembering it wasn't her place...not anymore.

"Great. Make sure Mike gets back to me with the feedback." Donna responded finally, inwardly wincing at the formality in her tone.

A strained silence followed, their eyes connecting as both their expressions did the talking. There was a sort of rare emotional pain in his, a sight that triggered a twinge of regret in her chest. She might have felt satisfaction if it were anyone else, but putting Harvey in a state of pain wasn't and would never be gratifying for her, no matter who she worked for.

"Harvey..."

"Donna." That was Mike's voice.

Donna turned toward the sound of approaching footsteps, seeing the younger lawyer in the doorway, eyeing her with a strange look. Almost like _betrayal. _

"Mike." Donna greeted, her tone involuntarily growing cold. She wouldn't consider herself extremely temperamental, but Mike's expression sure as hell rubbed her the wrong way.

"Isn't your office over _there_ now?" Mike questioned, tone not exactly _rude_ but definitely bordering on offensive- in a way that suggested there was hurt stashed somewhere underneath. Instead of guilt-tripping her, it only served as an irritation, and for a moment she didn't know how to respond.

"Mike, look those over." Harvey ordered, and though Donna wasn't looking, she could almost picture the tension in his shoulders that made his voice tighten. She took a breath, calming herself before stuffing the stack of files in Mike's chest, meeting his eyes with no fear in her own. She wasn't backing down from Mike. Mike, who knew absolutely nothing of the circumstances of their separation. Otherwise he'd treat the situation differently; he'd understand.

Mike looked like he was about to protest, but then, sensing the state Harvey was in, reconsidered. Whether it was out of pity or a desire to not be yelled at, Donna didn't stay to find out. She smoothed out her skirt with her now freed hands, moving passed Mike and out the open door. Until...

"Donna."

Mike had followed her out. Pursing her lips, she considered moving faster as a 'screw you', but then decided on being a little more mature than that. Only a little.

"What do you want, Mike?"She asked, maintaining the same walking speed as the younger man fell in step with her.

"I want to know why."

"Why what?"

"You're Donna, you can't get away with playing dumb." his tone was accusatory, and she bristled.

"Yes, I know what you're asking, and no, it's none of your damn business." His hand slipped around her arm just above the elbow, loose grip warning her to stop.

"He's a mess, Donna!" For a moment, the slight rise in his voice took her off guard, and her eyes flitted between the offices in case anyone had overheard. When she was convinced they hadn't, she turned back to Mike.

"Gosh, Mike, want to make sure the whole firm knows?" She flashed back, a sharp edge in her tone as she yanked her arm away. But Mike wasn't phased.

"What I really can't understand is why. Because you knew what it'd do to him, you know him better than _he_ knows him." He'd lowered his voice, for her benefit, but there was no less disgust measured in his words.

And partly, Donna understood. She often felt the same way when someone hurt Harvey- when you saw someone that close to you in pain, and he and Harvey were _very _close, it was almost like being hurt yourself, and you automatically harbored resentment toward the person who caused it. But she was far past the point of giving him grace for it, because wasn't _she _being hurt, just as much as he was? Why should _she_ be apologizing for having the guts to make the hard choice?

"Okay, Mike. Here's what's going to happen. I'm going to go back to work, and you can either do the same, or continue this rant to Rachel's face- whichever makes you feel better about yourself. But either way? I'm done listening." She snapped with feigned cordiality, giving him a sweet smile before turning away and walking off in the opposite direction.

He didn't get to judge her, when he knew nothing. He didn't get to ignore that she was in pain too.

Donna didn't speak to him or Harvey the rest of the day; though through the long work hours she thought on little else.

She knew it had hit Harvey hard, a bullet he hadn't been able to dodge- but Donna wouldn't understand just _how_ _hard_ it had hit until the next day. She should have anticipated it... Louis and Harvey were a time bomb, just waiting for the perfect moment to go off.

* * *

**[**_ a/n _**] **Thanks for reading! Please take a moment to drop a review. ;) To be continued...


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